The Dormant City of the Plagued

by Mhelisis

There was a ruined city a few miles to the south. Its architecture was strange; the tall buildings were made of giant black blocks and the geometry was flawless, which implied that its constructors possessed a high level of technology. It wasn't like anything they had ever seen. All cities they had encountered before had something at least vaguely human.

SG-1 travelled to a planet of which they had obtained the coordinates in the ruins of the Ancient city of Valos Cor. It was only an exploration mission, and their objective was to find anything of value and make peaceful contact with any potential inhabitants. Malokan was a scorched desert planet, with three moons in the sky. The air was barely breathable and smelled faintly of sulfur, although it was not toxic to the human explorers – at least according to the drone they had first sent, which had never failed them before.

— Do we really have to explore this planet? O'Neill asked. It smells like rotten Brussels sprouts.

— Jack... The coordinates were found on Valos Cor. This planet must have been of some significance to the Ancients.

— Remind me what the text said.

— There lies Malokan, the dormant city of the plagued. Or at least, I think the Ancient word meant "plagued", but I'm not entirely sure. It's not a common word.

— Exactly! How did you manage to persuade General Hammond that it was a good idea to visit the "city of the plagued"?

— We have analysed the air, sir, Carter said. There's no evidence of it being contaminated. We should be fine.

— Whatever! Carter, what's that flying in the sky?

She pulled up binoculars from her backpack.

— It looks like a colony of giant bats, sir. Considering their size, I'd say the food supplies are plenty on this planet.

— How lovely! As long as they don't feed on my blood, I don't care too much.

The team climbed up one of the dunes to get a better look at the landscape. There was a ruined city a few miles to the south. Its architecture was strange; the tall buildings were made of giant black blocks and the geometry was flawless, which implied that its constructors possessed a high level of technology. It wasn't like anything they had ever seen. All cities they had encountered before had something at least vaguely human.

— It doesn't look like it's been built by the Ancients, Daniel judged. That city is cyclopean! I can't wait to see what's inside.

— Right on!

They walked to the city. The buildings' surfaces were completely smooth, and seemed to be made of naquadah. There was no obvious entrance. At the outskirts, there was a 10-feet deep pit with animals inside. They looked like two-headed dromedaries and whined fearfully and loudly when they saw O'Neill's face on top of them.

— God! They are ugly.

— They probably think the same about you, Jack, Daniel pointed out.

— So, where's the welcome party? If anyone is alive in that town, they should be aware of our presence, now.

— O'Neill.

Teal'c pointed a finger at a brown-robed silhouette coming toward them. It was a middle-aged man. His face seemed oddly rigid, and only his lips moved when he spoke. His head was covered with a hood, and his hands were protected with leather gloves. But even more odd was his unintelligible speech, which sounded like borborygmus. O'Neill raised a hand and made the V sign.

— Well met, stranger. We come in peace.

The stranger's response was still unintelligible.

— Nice to meet you too.

— Jack, I don't think he speaks our tongue, Daniel commented.

— What's wrong with his face? He hasn't even blinked yet. Think he's one of the plagued?

— Let's hope not.

Carter ran a quick scan with an air sampler.

— It looks like he's clean, sir.

— Good!

— Good, the man echoed with a monotonous voice.

— Oh, nice! Can you understand what I'm saying? I didn't mean to insult your face. I find it very... beautiful. You just look a bit different from us.

— Good.

— Can you say anything other than "good"?

— Good. I don't blink, he said, still monotonously.

— What's your name?

— What's your name? he repeated.

— I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill.

— I'm Samthos.

— Amazing! I think he's learning our language, Daniel noted. He only repeats words that we have said before. He's a quick learner, though.

— Good. I'm a quick learner.

— O.K. That's really fascinating... Teal'c and I will explore this place while you teach English to our new friend.

It was a ghost town. They couldn't find any of Samthos' people between the gigantic buildings, and only stumbled upon another two-headed dromedary.

— There's something off about those beasts.

Teal'c nodded. He carefully examined the animal's fur.

— Stiches. One of the heads must have been transplanted onto the body of the other.

— Are you saying that this is the result of a freak experiment?

— It looks like it, O'Neill.

— I don't like it... at all.

Teal'c nodded again. They returned to the outskirts, and found the rest of the group walking toward a building. Samthos pressed his hand on the surface, and it opened like a door. They followed him inside.

— He's inviting us to share a meal, Daniel explained. He already has a vocabulary of about 500 words.

— 500 words? Weren't we gone for only like 10 minutes?

— Yes, O'Neill. But I'm a quick learner, a monotonous voice responded.

"That voice gives me the chills," O'Neill thought.

The inside of the building looked like a voodoo store. It smelled of incense, and the walls were covered with crucified bats. There was also a showcase with dead animals and unknown organs floating in yellowish liquid. There was one that looked like an eye. The robed man directed them to a table, and told them to wait for the food. O'Neill whispered to Daniel:

— This place is a bit creepy, isn't it?

— It's creepy to us, but we should be tolerant of other cultures. He might think that some of the stuff we do is creepy, too.

— Whatever. I don't like it.

— He seems to be friendly. Drop it, Jack.

Samthos brought four plates of a steaming broth. It had a slightly sulfuric smell, like the outside.

— I hope you will enjoy.

— Thank you, Samthos, Daniel said, politely.

He took a bite, and managed to swallow it. It was disgusting, but edible. Teal'c and Carter ate too.

— Jack...

— Daniel?

— If you don't eat, you will offend our host.

— I don't care, I'm not eating that.

— Sir, Daniel is right, Carter said. You should at least take a bite.

— Fine...

He took a really small bite.

— Goddammit...

He almost choked on himself, but he raised a thumb at their host to let him know it was good.

— Are you happy now, Daniel?

— Mhm.

— So tell me, Samthos. What happened to the dromedary, outside?

— Dromedary?

— The animal...

— Double head, double intelligence. We improve life. We improve O'Neill. The food improves O'Neill.

— What? What's in the food?

Samthos didn't answer. Instead, he turned his back and left. O'Neill grabbed his MP5 and stood up.

— Answer! he yelled. What's in the food?

— Leave him alone, Jack. I don't think he has poisoned us.

O'Neill walked toward the door and bumped his hand into it. He couldn't figure out how to open it. He turned to Samthos' direction, but he was already gone. And all the other doors were gone, too. They were trapped. In frustration, O'Neill fired at the wall, but it didn't seem to do any damage to it.

— Sir, Carter said. The walls are made of naquadah. Your bullets won't do any damage to it.

— You can't damage the walls, a voice said behind him.

It was Samthos, who was already back.

— Where the hell were you?

— I was eating, Colonel Jack O'Neill. I will open the door for you.

He pressed his hand on the wall, and it opened. O'Neill rushed outside. Not that he was claustrophobic, but the alien was making him too nervous. The wall closed behind him. He spoke in his radio:

— Carter... Teal'c... Do you copy?

But the naquadah walls were blocking radio transmissions, and he got no response. "I need to get rid of that crap in my stomach", he told himself. He stuck a finger in his throat, and made himself throw up. It left a nasty taste in his mouth which he rinsed with water. He looked at the wall. "I wonder what's going on, in there."

His friends came back ten minutes later.

— What happened?

— Samthos has asked to trade with our government. He seems to be interested in our antibiotics, and in return, he offers us weapons. I tried to get him to share knowledge or books with us, but he refused.

— That's not very surprising, Carter remarked. Technologically advanced societies, such as the Tollans, if you remember, are usually reluctant to share their science with others.

— So... Any idea what happened to his face?

— His face is entirely paralysed, except for his mouth. I saw some stitches on the side of his face, so I suspect that he has "improved" himself. But perhaps he has a neurological disease, such as bilateral facial nerve palsy.

— Any idea if this is contagious?

— I don't think so, sir. But for the safety of Earth, we'll have to remain quarantined for a little while. The medical team will bring decontamination tents.

— Great! It's been a while since I wanted to go camping. Did he explain what he meant by improving me?

— No, Daniel answered. He's been friendly, so I don't think he wants to harm us. He probably meant that the food would fill you with energy.

— I don't trust that guy. I think I'll stick to my rations.

###

Dr. Fraiser came in a Level A hazmat suit to set up the tent. She also took blood and saliva samples from the team. The interior was small, but at least the air inside was fresh. They were all utterly bored since they had nothing to do, except Teal'c who was meditating in the state of Kelno'reen. O'Neill complained all day that the medical team brought nothing to kill time, not even a deck of cards.

At night, everyone but O'Neill was sleeping. He saw humanoid shadows dancing against the fabric of the tent. Were those creatures from the dormant city?

— Who goes there? he asked.

But no one responded, and the shadows went away.

— Let me sleep, Jack, a drowsy Daniel requested.

— Daniel, I think I saw something.

Daniel put his glasses on and looked around.

— There's nothing, Jack. It must have been a dream.

And he rolled in the other direction to make O'Neill understand that he didn't want to debate further.

O'Neill grabbed a flashlight and passed the blow off booth. They weren't supposed to leave, but he thought, "To hell with the protocol." He investigated the surroundings but found nothing. The only noise he could hear was the shrill of the cold night wind, and his own breathing. He looked at the moons. There was something ominous about them, but he couldn't quite tell what. It felt like they were giant eyes that were gazing at him and could read his thoughts. This was nonsense, yet this feeling was overwhelming. O'Neill wasn't usually prone to irrational fear, so he reasoned that either his feeling was true, or that it was caused by an infection.

No one noticed his night escapade. In the morning, O'Neill discussed his impressions about the mysterious Malokanians. He thought that what they were doing to animals showed a complete lack of ethics. Daniel countered that the notions of good and evil were relative, and that perhaps the two-headed animals had actually an improved quality of life. It was like arguing with the Devil's advocate.

— Daniel, can we at least agree that their food was nasty?

— What are you talking about? Everyone loved it.

— Are you kidding me?

But the other two agreed with Daniel. If even Teal'c agreed, it could only mean that it was true.

— At first, it wasn't very good, but then it started tasting like caviar. You are too prejudiced, Jack.

Jack couldn't be convinced. Usually, his instinct was right; it had saved his life many times. And now, it was dictating him that his friends were infected. He had seen their face whilst they were eating: no one had enjoyed the food.